WACO, Texas -- No. 25 Baylor volleyball (15-4, 5-1 Big 12) will face its first opponent as a ranked team Saturday, traveling to face Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. at Ahearn Field House.

The match is set for a 7 p.m. CT first serve and will be live on ESPN3 with Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Liz Wegner-Busch (color analyst) on the call.

The Bears look to make it four in a row in conference action and capture their first win in the Little Apple since Sept. 27, 2014. BU is tied for second place in the conference standings through six games.

A live radio stream will be available to subscribers at BaylorBears.com during the match.

Fans can follow the action with the team's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorVball.

BEARS ARE TOP-25 TEAM AGAIN
- No. 25 Baylor volleyball will play its first match as a ranked team this season against K-State. The Bears were listed in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll for the first time since 2009 by cracking the list Monday afternoon.
- The Bears are ranked for the 21st time in program history and first since being ranked No. 24 on Nov. 21, 2009.
- During that season, BU was ranked for 10 straight weeks and peaked at No. 17, which still stands as the program high ranking in the 35-year history of the AVCA poll.
- Baylor has recorded wins over two ranked opponents this season, besting then-No. 10 BYU in five sets on Sept. 9 and sweeping then-No. 20 Iowa State in Ames last Wednesday.
- Baylor is the fourth ranked Big 12 team behind No. 5 Texas, No. 9 Kansas and No. 23 Iowa State.
- This is the first time that the Bears are ranked under third-year head coach Ryan McGuyre.
- The Bears first cracked the top 25 in 1999, finishing 20th.

BAYLOR RECENTLY
- Last Saturday, BU swept West Virginia in Waco for the team's fifth-straight win over the Mountaineers. - Shelly Fanning recorded her 500th career kill at Baylor and added a season-high three aces as the Bears held WVU to a negative hitting efficieny (-.011) for the team's ninth consecutive win at home.
- Last Wednesday, the Bears stormed into Ames, Iowa and upset No. 20 Iowa State for the team's first sweep over ISU in Ames since Oct. 5, 2001.
- The Bears also recorded their first ranked win on the road since Nov. 12, 2011 at No. 25 Oklahoma and now have back-to-back wins in Ames for the first time since 2004-05.
- While Katie Staiger struggled with a -.042 hitting percentage, Shelly Fanning had a match-high 14 kills on a .500 hitting effort. Yossiana Pressley contributed 10 kills while Hannah Lockin posted a double-double in front of her home state (37 assists, 11 digs).

TEAM NOTABLES
- BU improved to 12-0 when holding opponents to below a .200 hitting percentage. WVU hit -.011.
- BU has six players with double-digit aces (Fanning, Staiger, Lockin, Pressley, Brusek and Philo).
- Baylor is 10-0 when leading in blocks this season and 5-4 when trailing.
- Shelly Fanning has posted seven blocks or more in two of the last three matches. She had seven against WVU.
- Katie Staiger has hit .400 or better in five of the last nine matches, most recently hitting .444 vs. OU.
- BU has won 10 of its last 11 matches, dating back to the team's upset win over then-No. 10 BYU on Sept. 9. Baylor has only lost to No. 5 Texas in Austin since then.
- Baylor has only trailed in team kills twice this season (at Hawai'i, at Texas), and has only been outdug once (vs. then-No. 15 Florida State).
- Baylor is 7-1 in three-set matches and 6-1 in four-set matches.

BU VS. K-STATE HISTORICALLY
- The Bears look their third win in the last four matches against the Wildcats and first win in Manhattan since Sept. 27, 2014. BU won in five sets over K-State to start conference play.
- Baylor fell short in the Little Apple last season, falling in four sets on Oct. 29, 2016.
- Last season, the Bears swept then-No. 23 K-State at home for the second consecutive year. It was head coach Ryan McGuyre's first win over a ranked opponent with the program.
- Under third-year head coach Ryan McGuyre, the Bears are 2-2 against the Wildcats and are 0-2 in Manhattan.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
- Kansas State (9-10, 2-4 Big 12) head into Saturday's matchup looking for its first win over a ranked opponent this season. K-State is currently 0-5 against top 25 teams.
- K-State is 1-1 at home in conference play, most recently dropping a five-set decision to then-No. 12 Kansas on Sept. 24. The Wildcats won Big 12 matches against OU and Texas Tech in five sets.
- K-State has three players averaging over 2.00 kills per set, including Kylee Zumach, Bryna Vogel and Alyssa Schultejans.
- Sarah Dixon leads at the setting position (6.68 assists per set) while Reilly Killeen (3.27 digs per set) leads at the libero spot.

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Jana Brusek is 22 digs away from 1,500 career digs. She would become the sixth BU player to reach 1,500 career digs and first since Kristen Schramek (2004-07).
- Sitting at 99 matches, Tola Itiola will play in her 100th career match.